140 CULTIVATION OF INDIGO. 



lars ; that i., the sale price obtained by the planter at 

 Calcutta, for 75 Ibs. 



It will be seen the advantages possessed in America, 

 from the latitude of New- York down to the lowest point 

 in Florida ; for as the sowing and manufacture take 

 place between 1st April to middle of September, through 

 out that space it is fully warm. The cultivation of 

 indigo extends from Madras up to Delhi. Upwards, 

 from Patna, the plant has to be constantly irrigated ; the 

 hot winds that set in more or less in March, and April, 

 and May, are indeed very hot, and there is no rain until 

 10th or 15th June. Irrigation is carried on from a well 

 of some 12 to 16 feet deep, lined with great thick straw 

 ropes towards the bottom. The well generally contains 

 from 12 to 20 inches of water, which is drawn up in an 

 earthen pot. The work is painfully slow. The expense 

 of manufacturing, that is, the expense of purchasing the 

 plant and manufacturing, is about 30 dollars per mond, 

 which is considered very moderate. An European would 

 have no success in cultivating the plant himself. He 

 could not possibly expose himself in the hot winds. 



America has her lands waste, and can build her fac 

 tories in the centre of her fields ; and having done so, it 

 will be found that my estimate is above the mark at 

 least 20 per cent. 



Preparing the land and sowing, weeding once, cutting 

 the plant, filling the vats and taking it out again, is all 

 the labor ; anything else is the work of one man to a 

 large quantity. 



